Ashes to Flames, Dust to Frost
by Inkblot-Crisis
Summary: He is as cold as ice...literally. With a new outlook in life (not necessarily a good one) we see Draco regain those that which he had lost...well...some of them anyway. His heart may take a while to find.
1. Tales

Ashes to Flames, Dust to Frost  
by Inkblot-Crisis

_**.-.**__**  
Prologue**__**  
.-.**_

It was a tale.

A tale of loss and pain that would live in infamy among those who have heard it, but as all tales it changed little by little in each telling. There was no definite version of the events of that night not so long ago and no one really wished to dig into the truth for if the tale's protagonist or the tale's antagonist ever found out...well let us just put it that they didn't want to find out if half of the things both of them had done in the tales were true at all.

One sad and very heart-wrenching version of the tale began deep in the dreaded dungeons of a grand manor. Where the protagonist hung in chains, beaten and bleeding from the horrible curses and instruments of torture his father had put him through. After a week's worth of the terrible ordeal our hero's mother then came to heal her broken son. The father found out of course and had beaten his wife to an inch of her life before leaving them both to rot in the dark and vile dungeon.

Now, this was where the tale began to get very interesting to those who paid close attention to detail.

Somehow they managed to get out of the dungeon and somehow got near the gates of the Manor. Unfortunately this tale ended in tragedy as the father caught them both escaping and killed his 'beloved' wife.

Enraged and blinded by an unleashed fury the tale's hero lashed out at his father, injuring him gravely and to the point of death itself. And as the sorrow of loss had set itself in his mind he wretched at himself for not being able to protect his dear mother.

That tale ended rather obscurely as the protagonist then disappeared mysteriously and seemingly fell-off the face of the earth for a couple of months before news of his continued existence reached the public's ears.

Not a very comprehensive telling of the events but it was good for passing around in whispers and rather convenient for rumor-mongers that loved to twist details to make it more exciting or more tragic.

The name of the protagonist shouldn't be too difficult to figure out. Since it was only two weeks after the incident allegedly occurred that the hero's father, Lucius Malevolent Malfoy, member of the Board of Directors in-charge of Magical Education and Studies, announced to a buzzing public of the death of his wife and the sudden disappearance of his son.

The media began to gobble-up the rumors and whispers before they retracted every word that they had printed or had said a few days later. It was speculated by a lot of people that Lucius Malfoy had something to do with their renunciation on the death of his wife and of his son's vanishing...but as with everything...it was only guesswork.

So what did really happen? Nobody was sure.

But one thing was certain...

...whatever happened on that night, on that dreadful and fear-ridden night, Draconis Lucifer Malfoy came out changed.

Changed for better or for worse, that has yet to be seen.

_**.-.  
**__**Prologue End: Tales**__**  
.-.**_

_**.-.**__**  
AN**__**  
.-.**_

Alright, here it is, the rewritten form of Ashes to Flames, Dust to Frost. It took longer than expected and much longer than wanted. Yes, I will be writing just like this for the next chapters, I don't know if its a good thing or a bad thing so let me know how you see it (review). I'll be posting this with the first chapter as well, so you, my dear readers, can have something to tide you over as I COMPLETELY rewrite all twelve chapters of this fic...daunting...oh well.

Expect changes. Big changes.

_Inkblot-Crisis_

_**P.S.**_

_**The Post-script Section will return as soon as I receive reviews, I'll post it on the next chapter (2) so send me a review or two now and get a personal reply to any questions you ask right here (I'll try my best to answer it, promise). And please, if you have a few suggestions or comments, I do not mind.**_

_Read, Review and give me a cookie. Ok, just give me a cookie then._


	2. Cold Butterbeer and Bandits

Ashes to Flames, Dust to Frost  
by Inkblot-Crisis

_**.-.  
**__**Chapter One**__**  
.-.**_

Ginny Weasley was currently enjoying her first Hogsmeade Weekend since Term began. She was also currently in her Fourth year of residence in her beloved Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It amazed her how the three years had passed by almost unnoticed. Though for her it was best that she didn't remember her past years in avid detail...they were a little bit too much for her to handle, to say the least.

Either way, she loved strolling down Hogsmeade in the morning, greeting the people of the quaint village warmly before she began her little vacation from everyone else. Though she did endear the Gryffindor commons, she thought that it was getting a bit too..._whispery_ for her liking. Harry and the rest were obviously planning something a bit on the rule-breaking side of things, her suspicions were found correct when she heard the current D.A.D.A. Professor's name as she went past them this morning...nothing too dreadful for the old toad (she rolled her eyes at that one) she hoped.

As she sat down on a bench in the town's square she couldn't help but notice the children playing near the fountain of the Great Boar. Their merry squeals and laughter made her smile at their innocence. One of them noticed her and gave her a wave of a slightly chubby hand and a slightly toothless (the little tyke had a few missing) smile, she returned the gesture before closing her eyes and breathed in the relaxing fresh air.

She missed the Burrow. Hogwarts felt so stuffy inside, making her feel queasy at times. She never did like closed spaces, not since...

She immediately shook her head and thought no more, this day was for relaxing, she reminded herself. With that she took out her latest book and began reading. Too tell the truth, she loved books, loved them as much as her friend Hermione would, if that level of avid reading was ever attainable without a time-turner at least. She let herself get lost in the world of words, plots and names. She loved how writers made simple ink burst into life without even a touch of magic...or at least the obvious kind. She tucked back a stray strand of her hair behind her ear as she continued.

So engrossed in the tale was she that she didn't even notice a pair of steel-blue eyes boring into her from within the shadow of a rather large oak.

**.-.**

He had been watching her for a few minutes now. It's not that he didn't have anything better to do...actually, he didn't. He was bored and felt a bit too tired to train inside the Room of Requirement. So here he was, staring at a familiar face. He didn't care who was watching; at least he took the precaution and pulled up his coat's hood

_"Where have I seen her before?"_ he thought whimsically as he saw her turn the page of the tome on her lap. His eyes seemed to widen as a certain memory threw itself into his psyche.

_The Hogwarts Express at the end of his Fourth Year._

He instantly narrowed his eyes and let out a little growl "Bat-bogey hex." he muttered angrily as he pulled a few blades of grass from dirt near the oak's roots. They turned cold and froze to crystals at his touch, something not entirely new to him at this point, but fascinated him nonetheless. He'd half a mind to freeze everyone in that blasted incident.

His murderous thoughts were thrown aside as he then remembered a certain warning a_ 'friend' _of his gave before he left the sanctuary he lived in for the remainder of the summer.

_"Use your skills like an animal and I will hunt you myself."_

He gave a slight shudder at the thought of someone like Lupus tracking him. Though he was more talented in the magical department, he knew he'd never amount to Lupus' swordsmanship...not yet at least _"But...there is still time for improvement and change all that." _he thought with a wicked smirk.

A few of the townspeople were turning their heads at where he was sitting. He knew dressing up like this was a bit too much for autumn weather. He had on a pair of well worn black muggle jeans that went nicely with black boots, a faux fur-lined hooded jacket and the black muscle shirt he methodically picked from his trunk. It was all right for such weather, when the wind began carrying the cold nip of winter in their soft gusts, but it was a bit too warm for a scarf to be wrapped around the lower part of his face, no matter how thin the fabric was.

He felt awkward being stared at like that and moved to leave. He stood up and brushed his bottom free of dead leaves and dirt before digging into his pockets for his leather gloves cut half-finger (black, to go with his ensemble of course).

**.-.**

It seemed that he was too preoccupied with putting on his gloves and lost in his thoughts that he didn't notice the florist hastily making his way back to his shop with a rather large bouquet of white roses.

"Oi! Watch it lad!" the rather burly florist said as the immaculate white roses fell to the ground. The florist grumbled as he quickly began picking up the now dirty roses and ran towards the shop, hoping that the client was still there and wouldn't notice a few of the roses' appearance.

**.-.**

It took all the restraint he had not to strangle the portly florist and freeze him to death. He merely stood there as the bumbling flower-guy ran past him and headed towards the flower shop.

He was so angered by the man that he took the longer way around the fountain, he didn't even notice that his hood was down from the sudden jerking motion the collision made.

"You have a flower stuck to the side of your trousers." a voice said from slightly behind him after he walked a few yards. He turned around and saw her, the _'Bat-Bogey' _caster, not raising her head but clearly addressing him "It must have stuck to you when you bumped into that florist from earlier, you really should have apologized to him."

"Does it matter?" he raised an eyebrow, his head was turned towards her but he wasn't facing her at all.

"Unless you want to be ridiculed for having a rose stuck to your side, then I guess it doesn't." was her answer.

_"Point."_ he thought. He plucked the rose and picked the thorns that were stuck to the thick denim. He didn't know where else to put it so he made to throw it away.

"That's a very expensive kind of rose, about a sickle for a long stem like that." she stopped him "Are you sure you'd want to throw it away?"

_"What a bother this girl turned out to be."_ he thought before he answered "I have no use for a rose." he simply told her.

"Then give it to someone." she suggested, she still wasn't taking her eyes off of the book she was reading and it seemed that she hasn't even stopped reading from the motion of her eyes.

"I don't know anyone to give a rose to." which was almost true, he did know of certain girls that would be more than happy to receive some form of attention from him, it's just that he simply didn't care for them much to actually do such a thing.

He heard her heave a sigh "Then give it to anyone, it doesn't matter who, just don't throw it away. It's a pity for something beautiful to just go to waste." she said with a wave of her hand, meaning that the conversation was over and that he'd give to someone, anyone for that matter.

**.-.**

She was startled when a shadow loomed in front of her. Ginny raised her head and saw a pristine white rose in front of her.

"Here." the deep voice said.

She raised her head again and was a bit shocked. Arrow-straight silver locks and piercing steel-blue eyes, she recognized the strange young man instantly, it was none other than the Slytherin Prince, Draco Malfoy.

She heard him clear his throat slightly and motioned to the rose "Well?"

"I-I..." she began to stammer. Stupid book, had she not been so taken in by its plot she'd have recognize him much sooner "You can't give this to _me_..." she weakly reasoned, clearly meaning to ask him if he should have his eyes checked.

"And why not? You did say anyone." his eyes showed that he was clearly smiling, no, smirking she corrected herself, even though his mouth was hidden behind the black scarf around his lower face "It's yours now..." he said as he threw it gently on top of her open book and turned around "...and there's nothing you can do about it." with that the Slytherin Prince stalked away.

She was about to run after him when she realized that the book was still on her lap. She looked down and sighed...the rose really was there. She picked it up and looked at it before giving it a few sniffs "Hmmm..." she melted at the rose's soft scent, she shook her head as she remembered who had given her the flower and thought about throwing it away. Again she shook her head_ "Wouldn't want to be a hypocrite." _she thought with a final sigh _"Oh, what a..."_ she looked at the rose again and sighed _"...bother."_

**.-.**

It was nearing nightfall. Most of the students were now making for the horseless carriages for an early dinner...

...the keyword being _"most"_.

Ginny decided she wanted a cold butterbeer before heading back and entered the Three Broomsticks. She was instantly greeted by Madam Rosmerta, and after the pleasantries were exchanged she ordered a butterbeer and a table for one.

"Oh..." Madam Rosmerta's eyes darted from side-to-side "...I'm afraid I gave away our last free table, dear. It's the start of the Quidditch Season tomorrow and we've been getting more and more visitors since they heard how talented Young Mister Potter is at Seeking."

Ginny rolled her eyes _"Of course..." _she thought _"...everybody loves Harry."_

"Madam Rosmerta." A stern voice made itself present from behind the two ladies.

The Three Broomsticks' proprietor quickly turned around at the call...a bit too quickly it seemed, as the bottle of cold butterbeer was knocked down from her service-tray and was headed for a smash with the floor.

A pale hand quickly caught the bottle before it hit the Inn's hardwood.

Ginny only stared as Draco Malfoy straightened himself back up and looked at the bottle "I've been waiting for my order for a few minutes now." he turned around and made his way towards a lone table near the back.

"Ah, Mister Malfoy..." Madam Rosmerta called after him after she took a look at Ginny. She saw the Madam whisper something into Malfoy's ear, which instantly earned the Madam a raised eyebrow and a look from the Slytherin Prince. She then saw the pleading look Madam Rosmerta gave Malfoy and he shrugged and clearly stated "Whatever." before he made a beeline back to his table and sat down.

"What's wrong with him?" Ginny asked the Madam.

"Don't worry about it, dear, he seemed to be having a very bad day form the looks of it. Even asked for something stronger earlier today, I declined him of course, only proper." Rosmerta began "But, anyway, I got you a table...actually...you have to share it."

Ginny looked at the table where Malfoy was sulking, it was filled with empty bottles of butterbeer "Let me guess...I have to share the table with _him_."

"Sorry dear." Madam Rosemerta apologized "It's better than being in a table with older men...never know what they'd talk about."

Ginny rubbed her temples and sighed "It's fine..." she saw Madam Rosmerta's eyes lit up at her saying that "...I don't mind, really, and I'll have a butterbeer please, a very, very cold butterbeer." she said with a sweet smile.

"Will do dear, and sorry again." The Madam then went back to darting from one place of the inn to another.

She still had her smile on but after a few steps it faded away into an impassive look as she headed towards the dark corner near the back. How infuriating, all this for a butterbeer...if only she hadn't been hooked to it like Ron to baked goods. She arrived at the table and expected the Slytherin to throw a hundred-and-one insults at her for disturbing him in his sulking-area, so you could imagine how surprised she was when nothing, not even a scoff, came out of the Slytherin Prince. With that out of the way she pulled back a chair and sat down so she could begin waiting for her drink.

After a few minutes she was beginning to tap on the table, making a rather annoying tap-tap-tap that somehow didn't register in her mind as maddening.

"Will you stop that!" he finally spoke.

**.-.**

It was getting on his nerves. Well, everything around him was getting on his nerves lately. The tapping Miss Weasley (he finally remembered who she was due to her auburn locks) made wasn't helping him none in his _everyday-is-a-bad-day-so-get-away-from-me _demeanor.

After his little outburst he forcefully put the bottle in front of her.

She looked at him curiously before inspecting the bottle.

He rolled his eyes "It's not poisoned...and no, I didn't drink from it yet." he stated as he leant back on his chair.

It took her a few seconds before she took a swig from the bottle, she made a face as it went down her throat.

"Something wrong?" he drawled as he raised his right eyebrow slightly this time.

"I'm used to nearly frozen butterbeer, this one's been sitting for a few minutes now..." she said as she wiped a bit of dribble from the corner of her lip "...it's awful when it's not how you're used to it."

"Give it here." he said in a sigh.

"Why?" nonetheless she handed him back his bottle.

He knew it was a bad idea giving her his bottle, he always thought butterbeer was better at slightly lower than room temperature, the cheap kind that they served in the Three Broomsticks, at least. The thought of near frozen butterbeer going down his throat made his head tingle a bit as he never had it near frozen...maybe when his next bottle came he'd try it.

He took the bottle in his pale hand then neared it to his lips. He closed his eyes as he gently blew on it. Almost as soon as he let go of his breath the bottle became covered in frost blossoms.

With a slightly satisfied look on his face he gave her back the bottle and leant back on his chair. The dumbstruck look on her face was well worth the wait for the next bottle.

**.-.**

"For someone who has a craving for ice-cold butterbeer you seem to be ignoring a perfectly good bottle." his voice snapped her from her daze.

He just performed wandless magic, on a bottle nonetheless.

_"Goddess..." _her thoughts were reeling. She had been told that Wandless magic was always dangerous and uncontrollable, especially if you mean to concentrate on something small. It was because of the dangers of Wandless magic that the Wizards and Witches of old made wands, so that they could focus the gift that the Etherial Planes granted them...or so goes the legend.

"How did you-?" she sputtered.

He rubbed the back of his neck as he let out a grunt "Well? Aren't you going to drink it? If I'd known you would just leave it to melt I'd have asked Rosmerta for another bottle." he drawled.

Ginny was so irked by his actions that she took a swig...a long one...a very big mistake. The sweet butterbeer was indeed cold, so cold that the contents seemed to be freezing to the point that it felt painful...especially when she swallowed the scalding cold liquid, it gave her the biggest case of brain-freeze she had in her life. Her hands went to her head as she grit her teeth and slammed her head on the table.

"Oooh..." his voice assaulted her ears "...that must feel absolutely dreadful." he said before going into a low chuckle.

"Oh just shut it." she hissed as the pain was slowly ebbing. Her eyes were slightly watering and her head throbbing, but for some odd reason she didn't have the urge to kill the one who did this to her...maybe because it wasn't entirely his fault.

By this time Madam Rosmerta had arrived with Ginny's order of _"A very, very cold butterbeer."_ at the sight of a bottle in Ginny's hands she looked at Malfoy with a smile "How nice of you to share your butterbeer, Mister Malfoy." she said as she put down the bottle of cold and sweet brew on his side of the table. She saw Ginny attempt to dig into her pockets for the five Knuts but stopped her "It's on the house, dear." she said with a smile to the two before rushing to drop off another customer's order.

**.-.**

He smirked as he took the bottle just as Ginny Weasley reached for it.

"Hey!" Draco heard her yell.

With the smirk still on his face he tilted his head as well as the butterbeer bottle in his hand to the side "No need to be greedy, Weasley. You already have one." he pointed out.

"But this one is too cold, even for me." she reasoned.

"True, I guess I did make it too cold for consumption..." he said in a tone of thought "...and I also guess that though this one is still cold it isn't as painfully cold as the one you just drank from..." he continued, he then narrowed his eyes and gave her a cold smirk "...but I fail to see why I should care." he said as he took a quick swig from the new bottle "Ah...just right."

He saw her glower at him, which made him feel so much better about the day...or night.

_"Night!" _his thoughts realized that they should have been at the Carriage Area by now. Oh Merlin, if he wasn't on a carriage back to Hogwarts soon he'd have a lot to answer for...and even with his newfound skills he'd still be in for such a berating from Snape. With the events of last year security measures were increased for the children, a curfew was put in place when it came to Hogsmeade Visits.

He quickly stood up and took the jacket and scarf behind his chair's back; he left her with a smirk and a quick wink. He was about to make a run for the exit when he heard Madam Rosmerta yell.

"And where do you think you're going? I don't know how you pay for things Young Malfoy, but we do not accept credit in the Three Broomsticks." her tone was stern as Snape's...not a very good tone of voice to hear in anybody's opinion.

Draco dug into his jacket and took out a coin pouch, he threw it at the Inn's Madam "Just take it out from there, I'll be back for it next trip." he said in a rush as he dashed away into the night.

**.-.**

_"Night!" _her thoughts screamed. Ginny too just realized how late it was. She thought that she'd have time for a quick butterbeer fix before heading back to Hogwarts, the incident with Malfoy cost her more time than she could have afford.

Speaking of her butterbeer fix...

She looked at her bottle and saw that the butterbeer was now frozen solid. She let out a sigh and slumped on the table. She was still craving for sweet butterbeer. She eyed _his_ bottle and saw the dew drip down it invitingly.

"..." she bit her lower lip.

**.-.**

Draco paced near the lone carriage as he began wrapping the scarf around the lower part of his face again _"Why in Merlin's beard am I doing this?" _he thought as he finally leaned back on the carriage's wide door _"What do I care if she lands herself in a trouble?"_ he shook his head and went inside the carriage, he was about to give the order to leave when he heard a yell in a young lady's voice.

"Wait!"

Like a proper gentleman he opened the door and let her in, but unlike most gentlemen he then shoved her down to the opposite seat and pulled on the rope that signaled for the Threstals to run.

"About bloody time..." he said as he locked the doors, at this rate they'll get back to Hogwarts in no-time "...honestly, how long did it take for you to follow after m-" he turned to the other passenger, he stopped mid-sentence and furrowed his brow "Granger?"

Indeed, for it wasn't whom he expected.

"What's your bloody problem Malfoy?" she yelled indignantly as she unruffled her cloak in an effort to regain composure.

"Doesn't concern you." he answered as he looked out of the window, the town of Hogsmeade quickly becoming further and further away. He scowled as his conscience was beginning to feel worried for the Weasley-girl. He narrowed his eyes and numbed everything...I mean, what did he care about some Gryffindor girl.

"Were you waiting for someone?" Granger snapped him from his contemplative gaze outside.

He didn't care "..."

"Malfoy?"

"... " he doesn't answer as he looked away from the window and raised his hood to block the light from the lamp inside the carriage.

"Hmmph."

_"No...I don't care." _he thought with finality as the butterbeer's effects of slight happiness was quickly wearing off, leaving him back into his rather rotten disposition.

**.-.**

Ginny Weasley fought the urge to cry. _"How in the world was she going to get back to Hogwarts?"_ she thought as the last carriage disappeared into the pathway that lead to the castle.

The sun had gone and the path made dangerous with the presence of wild animals and other creatures that came alive at night.

"Aw, what d'we 'ave 'ere?" a sneering voice came from the shadows of the alleyway that was next to the Carriage-station "Little girls like you shouldn't be out in the middle o' d'night..." a smile of rotten teeth was shown as a lamp was lit and raised "...never know what might be creepin' about."

An echo of hyena-like laughter came from behind as the night's hooligans began appearing from their holes.

Ginny took a step back and turned, maybe leaving the Three Broomsticks wasn't a very good idea, she thought as she turned and headed for the only safe-haven she knew...perhaps Madam Rosmerta knew of a way to get back to the castle. She was stopped in her tracks as three dark wizards were standing in her way, wands drawn and bearing nasty, evil grins.

"Why don't you just stay a while, girly, you might enjoy it." the one with the low-lit lamp said in his grimy smile.

Ginny felt a rush of panic. True, she was a tough girl, but she was against dark wizards now...and the knowledge that she was alone made her tremble even more than she already did. "Look'it lads..." the one with the lamp called to the ones behind him "...the little bird is trembling." again the hyena laughter came and sent a shiver down her spine.

She trembled even more...but this time it was involuntary. It felt like the night dropped a good fifteen degrees than an ordinary autumn night all of a sudden. Ginny saw the three dark wizards from earlier rubbing the sides of their arms, meaning she wasn't the only one experiencing this strange occurrence.

"What in Mab?" the one with the lamp said as the light in the lamp suddenly died, leaving the entire part of the street in darkness.

The third-quarter moon made their misty breaths visible as all of them began panting from the sudden cold.

A small roll of fog seemed to cover the street then as a figure is seen walking toward...hauntingly humming a tune that sounded like a Weird Sister's song. His steps were slow and strangely fluid, like he wasn't walking at all.

The Leader, the one with the now unlit lamp turned to the new figure "Oi! What you want?" he said in a tough voice, it wasn't easy as his teeth seemed to begin to chatter.

The jacket the figure wore seemed familiar to Ginny, and now that her eyes had adjusted she recognized who it was for the second time that day. With the hood up and the light against his back it was difficult to know who it was at first glance. The figure had his hands in the jacket's pockets while he merely stood there in the middle of the street and lazily leaned his head towards Ginny's direction.

"And what's she to you?" The Leader asked.

**_"It doesn't matter who she is to Me."_** his voice seemed freakishly rasp and otherworldly, it sounded like it was whispered but they heard it as if it was spoken right against their ears. He spoke again **_"Leave."_** a command, not a request.

The Leader, oblivious as to the identity of this stranger looked him over. The jacket was clearly muggle, as with the rest of the stranger's apparel. He didn't seem to be carrying a wand and didn't look all that strong due to the figure's lithe form, the dark wizard grinned his wicked grin as a thought occurred to him "Why not make a wager..." he said as he put down the lamp "...my best fighter against you, my good sir, the winner gets the girl."

Ginny waited for his answer. She had her hand in her coat's pocket, gripping her wand for what it was worth. A hand on her shoulder caused her to straighten as a wand was pressed behind her back "Up-pup-pup, none of that now..." a sneering voice whispered near her head.

**_"Who is your best fighter then?"_ **She heard his raspy voice ask.

"Heindkard." The Leader called.

From the shadowy alley a large wizard came out into the street. He was a very tall wizard that seemed to have a bit of troll's blood in him from the looks of his face. As he took of his cloak his flimsy shirt formed against hard muscles, which he flexed to intimidate his opponent.

**_"Very well."_ **Draco's raspy voice accepted the challenge.

"Don't do it Malfoy, this isn't a fight with wands this is a fist-fight!" Ginny found herself yelling in concern for her...dare she say it..._hero_.

At the mention of his name the Leader grinned even wider "Oh, Malfoy is it? Not Draconis Lucifer Malfoy I suppose..."

_**"Enough!"** _Draco growled,** _"Let us be done with this!"_**

"Ah...but the hefty bounty on your head makes it all different now." the Leader turned back to Heindkard "Don't bloody him too much, You-Know-Who wants him alive...just barely though if you want." he added before giving the monstrosity a slap behind the back.

Heindkard let out a chortle that gave an insight on his limited intelligence. He then stepped in the middle of the street a few yards away from the hooded young man. He let out a loud roar before he raised his hand and made for a mad sprint toward his target.

A rush of the wind caused them to shut their eyes for a second before their ears heard Heindkard's terrible roar suddenly silenced and replaced with the sickening sound of bone cracking.

The spectators expected that the young man was now flattened to an unrecognizable mass of flesh and blood. So you could imagine their surprise when they saw Draco Malfoy suspended in mid-kick, his boot stuck on Heindkard's now broken and deformed jaw. The ogre-like bandit's eyes lifelessly white as they were rolled back into his head as his legs gave way and he knelt down, asleep yet gave the appearance of being awake. The lithe form of the victor then simply jumped away from the massive still form of his opponent and tugged on his jacket's hood.

**_"He's still alive..."_** his rasp voice said in a sneer **_"...just barely though."_** he said as he looked at the Bandit Leader with a fierce glint in his silver eyes.

**.-.**

He smirked underneath his scarf at their reaction. _"Weaklings." _he thought as he made his way towards the Weasley-girl.

The three bandits near her immediately kept their distance from the unimaginably strong young wizard.

He paid the bandits no mind, as he knew they were scurrying off to some place where they could report tonight to a member of the Dark Lord's Circle. The one named Heindkard had been levitated towards their hideout in shame. The streets were once again free from shadowy characters...well other than himself that is.

Draco saw the bit of fear in her eyes as he neared "Are you coming or not?" his voice turned to normal but the coldness he was surrounded seemed to be having an affect on her. He saw her slightly sway before he caught her in his arms. He rolled his eyes, he had forgotten the incident with the cold butterbeer from earlier, her body temperature must be dangerously low by now.

He took off his jacket and cast warming charms on it before wrapping it around her shivering form. He then pulled up the hood of his jacket over her face and made sure that he wasn't directly touching any part of her body as he lifted her up and carried her in his arms.

"Now where's Granger with that carriage?" he mumbled behind his scarf as he walked towards the pathway carrying the unconscious girl in his arms "Ah, speak of the Mudblood..." he said as the sound of the carriage's wheels neared.

The carriage blitzed toward them and screeched to a halt as soon it was near. He saw Granger jump out while it was still moving and pointed her wand at him accusingly and with a stern look on her face.

"Let her go Malfoy!" she ordered.

"Let me think about it, Granger..." he looked up to the sky for a second and then back to Granger "...no." he stated flatly as he made towards the carriage.

"I don't know why you jumped out of the carriage earlier Malfoy and I don't know what you did to that girl but I'm sure you're up to no good." she said as she narrowed her eyes in determination "Now...let...her...go."

"As I've said before: No." he answered her. He then took a step towards the carriage. What happened next would have made him snap, the Mudblood actually fired a Knock-out Spell at him. He grit his teeth as he fought the urge to blackout. He took another step and again was blasted with the same spell. It took several recasts of the spell before it had any effect on him. With one last angry yell he raised the girl in his arms and into the carriage's floor before collapsing at the effects of five Knock-out spells cast on end.

**.-.**

Hermione Pallas Granger stared as Malfoy's form finally hit the cobblestone street with a thud _"What is he!"_ her thoughts screamed as she still had her wand pointed at his form. She gave him a kick, as she made sure he was really unconscious. She then gingerly stepped around him and into the carriage, the girl he carried and dumped inside was beginning to stir awake.

"Are you alright?" she asked the girl. As she pulled back the hood to see who it was she gave a slight shriek "Ginny!"

She saw the her skin seemed to be pale for some reason and she gave a slight shiver "Hermione?" she heard her friend weakly speak as she pulled the jacket around her tighter.

She took her hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze "It's alright Ginny, Malfoy won't trouble you anymore." she was startled when Ginny's eyes widened.

"Hermione, what did you do to him?" her shaking voice asked in a tone of worry.

Hermione felt that she had done something very wrong "He's alright Ginny, I just stunned him, he'll have a lot to answer to when we get back to the castle." she said in a soothing tone as Ginny tried to get up in vain before she fell to a tired sleep.

The Gryffindor prefect gave a sigh as she adjusted her sleeping friend to lay on the carriage's seat. She faintly heard Ginny mumble something in her sleep so she lowered her head so her ear was close to Ginny's lips.

"He saved me...he saved me...he saved me..." Ginny mumbled over and over again.

Hermione jumped away from her friend and sat down on the seat across _"Malfoy...saved Ginny?" _her thoughts were reeling from what she had just heard. It took her a few seconds to regain a clear head. She then stepped out of the carriage so she could load Malfoy's limp form and then try to explain this misunderstanding to the Headmaster when they get back to Hogwarts.

She stopped a few steps away from touching the street; she stopped because she saw where Malfoy's body was supposed to be.

_Supposed_ to be.

"Oh Merlin, what now?" she panicked as she looked around in the dark street for any signs that would explain where Malfoy's body had been carried. She yelled his name in an effort to call him out should he had woken up of his own accord.

Nothing.

Knowing there was nothing more to do she climbed back into the carriage and headed, at full-speed, towards the safe comfort of Hogwarts castle.

Hermione gave one last look at Hogsmeade before sighing and began to tend to her friend _"What really went on back there, that's what I want to know." _she thought as she cast a healing charm on Ginny, who was thankfully beginning to show some color back in her cheeks.

**.-.**

He grunted as he shook his head free of the dreadful ringing in his ears. He looked around and found himself at a familiar place.

"The Astronomy Tower?" he asked out loud as he stood up. His legs felt slightly like jelly and he was forced to kneel down on one knee. He looked around again and found himself alone...

"Be glad your resistance against spells had increased, otherwise you'd still be sleeping like a log."

...or so he thought.

He turned to the familiarly cold voice and narrowed his steel-blue eyes "You..." he seemed to seethe "...what are you doing here?"

A figure garbed in a hooded trench-coat stepped out of the shadows behind him "The Headmistress sent me to keep an eye on you."

Draco rubbed his head as it began to throb at the mention of the Headmistress of Hallow's Hall "How did I get here?"

"Took the fastest way, I ran." the figure sarcastically stated as he made his way towards the edge of the tower.

"War, wait." Draco called out.

The figure named War turned and locked into Draco's steel-blue orbs with his own menacing amber ones.

"Why are you really here, War?" The Slytherin asked as he slowly got up and clenched his fist in preparation for a fight.

He saw War give him a smirk, it was identical to his own, but he knew the reason for it all too well "Train harder, Draconis, train harder and you'll know why." with that he jumped off of the tower and into the night.

Draco ran towards the edge and stopped. He looked around and saw no sign of the being that was named War, so he stepped back and craned his neck and, from habit, reached back to pull up the hood of his non-existent jacket "Bloody..." he swore as he realized where it was right now. He'll just have to buy another one, he thought as he made his way to the stairs that led down. He'd pay the Kitchens a little visit before heading back to his quarters, a quick shower and after that a good night's rest.

He needed all the rest he could get tonight. Tomorrow was the first match of the Quidditch Season, as always it was against Gryffindor and Slytherin.

"Oh joy..." he muttered with as much enthusiasm as having double lessons in Care of Magical Creatures. He continued down the winding stairs and stomped at every step he took.

_"What a day."_ he sighed in his head.

_**  
.-.  
**__**Chapter One End: Cold Butterbeer and Bandits**__**  
.-.**_

_**.-.**__**  
AN**__**  
.-.**_

Ooooookay...that was long. This is actually three chapters all rolled into one. The Fountain, The Three Broomsticks and finally The Cobblestone Street scenes were supposed to be different chapters altogether. It's a bit time consuming to read but hey, I think I wrote it good if-I-do-say-so-myself. You'll notice the little tweak in Draco's persona from the first post of this fic, I made him meaner...so deal with it. Ginny, I made her speech not comprised of questions unlike the first posting again (honestly I realized I made her sound like Crabbe or Goyle from the books always firing questions). Hermione makes an appearance as well...there's a very good reason for it too...but I won't say it right now so bleh.

And for Vab, I made War appear much earlier than before so he could interact much earlier to the story as well. He's got a big role in this fic so I thank you for liking him when he was first posted.

_Inkblot-Crisis_

_**P.S.**_

_**Don't forget to review!**_

_Read, Review, buy a chicken for a pet._


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